Words of the Word

Week 24, Sunday. Words of THE WORD.

“Give peace, O Lord, to those who wait for You, that Your prophets be found true. Hear the prayers of Your servant, and of Your people Israel. (Sirach 36:18)

COLLECT

Look upon us, O God,
Creator and ruler of all things, and,
that we may feel the working of your mercy,
grant that we may serve you With all our heart.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living (Psalm 114: 9).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT (click for all readings)

“Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" They said in reply, "John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets." And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said to him in reply, "You are the Christ." Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him. He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:27-35)

REFLECTION

From a seemingly innocuous question, to an announcement of death and the command to take up one’s Cross each day, this episode in Mark’s Gospel opens what many scholars term the core of the Marcan proclamation of Good News. Mark 8:22 through 10:52 is unit within this Gospel. It opens at 8:22 with the healing of a blind man and closes at 10:52 with sight restored to another blind man, suggesting a lesson on the necessity to see clearly and properly as a disciple of the Kingdom. Many key and challenging teachings of Jesus regarding Kingdom living are sounded in this part of the Gospel according to Mark, not the least of which are three specific teachings on Jesus’ impending passion, death and resurrection that elicits various responses from disciples; disciples at this point in their lives who are apparently blind to the understanding and demands Kingdom living.

Hermon Springs, Israel. Like the disciples, I too recall spending a relaxing moment here with by beloved Dad and sipping very cool and refreshing water.

One might wonder what was in the minds of the disciples as they traveled to Caesarea Phillipi. Situated in the northern part of Israel, it is the place of Hermon Springs, the major source of water that, as it collects southward, empties into and forms the Sea of Galilee. It was and still is a place of rest and refreshment, with many people kneeling down and bringing a handful of cool spring water to their lips. Thus when Jesus asks, “Who do people say that I AM?” – perhaps the disciples thought this might be the introduction to some friendly chit-chat around the springs. They (and we) learned quickly that this was neither meaningless question nor a casual discussion. When Jesus posed the question even more seriously, “but who do you say that I am?” Jesus got to the very heart of the Gospel. This was a question the disciples began to wrestle with early in the Public Ministry (cf Mark 4: 35-41): just who is this Person in the boat with us?

The question Jesus poses about His identity is essential for the disciple. Jesus certainly is not looking for a mindless, glib catechism answer that is belted out without any significance. The question is meant to shake the disciples (and us) from a self-creation of Jesus, a Jesus that is warm, fuzzy, comfortable – a ‘god’ on my terms. The various ‘images’ or ‘conceptions’ we have of Jesus, His Father and the Holy Spirit are images that must be continuously held up to the light of the Gospel and critiqued. Many involved in pastoral ministry and many believers will attest that the ‘faith question’ among many is not so much the existence of God but just exactly who (or what, sadly) is God. Is God the ‘divine police officer’ looking to nail you every time you sin? Is God the ‘sugar daddy’ who is able to leap tall buildings in a single bounce to give the pray-er whatever she or he wants whenever she or he calls out? Is God the ‘divine watchmaker’ who has constructed a complex creation, started the pendulum swinging then leaves us to our own devices to figure things out? Is God the ‘the force’ of goodness that pervades the universe as some etherial goo? These images have been formed in our lives over the years in response to a plethora of circumstances and experience as well as for reasons beyond counting. J. B. Phililips, in Your God is Too Small, put it this way, “Many men and women today are living, often with inner dissatisfaction, without any faith in God at all. This is not because they are particularly wicked or selfish or, as the old-fashioned would say, “godless,” but because they have not found with their adult minds a God big enough to “account for” life, big enough to “fit in with” the new scientific age, big enough to command their highest admiration and respect, and consequently their willing co-operation.”

The task to grapple with Jesus identity is essential if we are to be true disciples as the original ones eventually came to be. Jesus’ identity must be accepted on His terms, not the individual’s because Jesus is clear as to Who He is: Son of God the Father Who is Love. As Son of the One-Who-Is-Love, Jesus knows acutely the result of selfishness and self-centeredness when it comes to Love: destruction. The only antidote to love in the way of the One-Who-Is-Love is the Cross. Jesus’ Cross is the singular way for authentic Love to blossom and for humanity to be remade in the image of the Son of God. This is why Jesus insists on denying oneself. It is not to make for misery, but to move us from the addiction to self and turn – in service – to the One Who Is Love, God our Father.

In this vein, the 6th century Bishop, Caesarius of Arles, counseled his flock in one of his Sermons: “When the Lord tells us in the Gospel that anyone who wants to be his follower must renounce himself, the injunction seems harsh; we think he is imposing a burden on us. But an order is no burden when it is given by one who helps in carrying it out. To what place are we to follow Christ if not where he has already gone? We know that he has risen and ascended into heaven; there, then, we must follow him. There is no cause for despair—by ourselves we can do nothing, but we have Christ’s promise. … One who claims to abide in Christ ought to walk as he walked. Would you follow Christ? Then be humble as he was humble. Do not scorn his lowliness if you want to reach his exaltation. Human sin made the road rough. Christ’s resurrection leveled it. By passing over it himself, he transformed the narrowest of tracks into a royal highway. Two feet are needed to run along this highway; they are humility and charity. Everyone wants to get to the top — well, the first step to take is humility. Why take strides that are too big for you — do you want to fall instead of going up? Begin with the first step, humility, and you will already be climbing.”

Week 23, Sunday. Words of THE WORD.

ANTIPHON (click for full Psalm)

“You are just O Lord and Your judgment is right; treat Your servant in accord with Your merciful love. (Psalm 119:137, 124)

COLLECT

O God,
by whom we are redeemed and receive adoption,
look graciously upon your beloved sons and daughters,
that those who believe in Christ
may receive true freedom and an everlasting inheritance.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

Praise the Lord, my soul! (Psalm 146:1).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT (click for all readings)

“Again Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!”-- that is, “Be opened!” -- And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak. (Mark 7:31-37).”

REFLECTION

This Sunday’s proclamation from the Gospel according to Saint Mark opens with Jesus traveling an impressible distance: from Tyre to the district of the Decapolis (click here to see a map) and once there, an event with meticulous and vivid detail unfolds. When Jesus got to the district of the Decapolis (an alliance of 10 Greek cities, south of the Sea of Galilee, formed to help preserve and advance their culture and commercial interests), nameless “people” brought to Jesus a “deaf man who had a speech impediment.” (Are you hearing any echoes of evangelization or The New Evangelization here?) Reminiscent of an episode earlier in Mark’s Gospel, the paralyzed man being brought to Jesus by 4 people, once again ‘others’ are instrumental in bringing people to an encounter with the Person, Jesus.

Interestingly, the people who bring the deaf man to Jesus want Him “to lay his hand on him,” a gesture certainly familiar to many people who witnessed various healings by Jesus. Yet this time, Jesus follows a different course of action by removing Himself and the deaf man from the crowd and using His fingers and spittle. Some scholars suggest that the Greek people of the Decapolis would have recognized these gestures as inherently healing, even though Jesus and the deaf man are off by themselves. But then there is the curious record of Jesus ‘groaning’ followed by 2 commands: “Be opened” and ‘tell no one.’

στενάζω (stenázo) is the Greek verb translated here “to groan” (and it can also be translated “to sigh”). There are certainly situations and circumstances that pop up in day-to-day living that cause one to groan or to sigh, many of them involving disappointment that a particular course of action did not result the way I thought it would. In the biblical world of the Gospels, though, στενάζω is often used as a response to oppression. Someone or something is actively preventing a person or people from living fully and another is needed in order to remove the oppression (for example, the Hebrew people caught in the slavery bondage of Egypt). στενάζω also signals to the people of the Decapolis that Jesus’ work is in no way associated with variants of Greek magical rites but a recognition of the reality of oppression that must be conquered. Jesus conquers the oppression here and, as the Cross looms ever present in His Public Ministry, He will definitely conquer all oppression and then command His disciples to freely and boldly speak of Him and His power to liberate humanity.

Week 22, Labor Day (USA)

ANTIPHON (click for full Psalm)

“May Your favor, O Lord, be upon us, and may You give success to the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:17)

COLLECT

O God, Who through human labor
never cease to perfect and govern
the vast work of creation,
listen to the supplications of Your people
and grant that all men and women
may find work that befits their dignity,
joins them more closely to one another
and enables them to serve their neighbor.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

Prosper the work of our hands! (Psalm 90:17).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT (click for all readings)

“Then God said: Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth. God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and God said to them: Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.* Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that crawl on the earth. God also said: See, I give you every seed-bearing plant on all the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; and to all the wild animals, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the earth, I give all the green plants for food. And so it happened. God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed—the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed. On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing; he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation (Genesis 1:26-2:3.”

REFLECTION

Today’s reflection is an excerpt from Blessed John Paul II’s encyclical Laborem Exercens (On Human Labor). Click here for the text of the entire encyclical.

“The truth that by means of work man participates in the activity of God himself, his Creator, was given particular prominence by Jesus Christ-the Jesus at whom many of his first listeners in Nazareth “were astonished, saying, ‘Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? ... Is not this the carpenter?’” For Jesus not only proclaimed but first and foremost fulfilled by his deeds the “gospel,” the word of eternal Wisdom, that had been entrusted to him. Therefore this was also “the gospel of work.” because he who proclaimed it was himself a man of work, a craftsman like Joseph of Nazareth. And if we do not find in his words a special command to work-but rather on one occasion a prohibition against too much anxiety about work and life - at the same time the eloquence of the life of Christ is unequivocal: he belongs to the “working world”, he has appreciation and respect for human work. It can indeed be said that he looks with love upon human work and the different forms that it takes, seeing in each one of these forms a particular facet of man’s likeness with God, the Creator and Father. Is it not he who says: “My Father is the vinedresser,” and in various ways puts into his teaching the fundamental truth about work which is already expressed in the whole tradition of the Old Testament, beginning with the Book of Genesis?

On the basis of these illuminations emanating from the Source himself, the Church has always proclaimed what we find expressed in modern terms in the teaching of the Second Vatican Council: “Just as human activity proceeds from man, so it is ordered towards man. For when a man works he not only alters things and society, he develops himself as well. He learns much, he cultivates his resources, he goes outside of himself and beyond himself. Rightly understood, this kind of growth is of greater value than any external riches which can be garnered ... Hence, the norm of human activity is this: that in accord with the divine plan and will, it should harmonize with the genuine good of the human race, and allow people as individuals and as members of society to pursue their total vocation and fulfill it.”

Such a vision of the values of human work, or in other words such a spirituality of work, fully explains what we read in the same section of the Council’s Pastoral Constitution with regard to the right meaning of progress: “A person is more precious for what he is than for what he has. Similarly, all that people do to obtain greater justice, wider brotherhood, and a more humane ordering of social relationships has greater worth than technical advances. For these advances can supply the material for human progress, but of themselves alone they can never actually bring it about.” This teaching on the question of progress and development – a subject that dominates present day thought-can be understood only as the fruit of a tested spirituality of human work; and it is only on the basis of such a spirituality that it can be realized and put into practice. This is the teaching, and also the program, that has its roots in “the gospel of work.””

Week 22, Sunday. Words of THE WORD

ANTIPHON (click for full Psalm)

“Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to You all the day long. O Lord, You are good and forgiving, full of mercy to all who call to You. (Psalm 86:3, 5)

COLLECT

God of might, giver of every good gift,
put into our hearts the love of your name,
so that, by deepening our sense of reverence, and,
by your watchful care, keep safe what you have nurtured.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord. (Psalm 15:1).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT (click for all readings)

“Humbly (πραΰτητι, prauteti) welcome (δέξασθε, dexasthe) the word that has been planted (ἔμφυτον, emphuton) in you and is able to save (σῶσαι, sosai) your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (James 1:21b-22, 27)”

REFLECTION

With the return to the continuous proclamation from the Gospel according to Mark this Sunday, another blessing befalls us in listening to the Word of God this Sunday: all three proclamations center on the authentic reception of the Lord’s Word and translating that reception into proper action. Deuteronomy records Moses’ instruction concerning the “statues and decrees” and how blest Israel is in knowing exactly how to respond to the Lord’s providential care and blessings of all the needed resources especially the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. James not only echoes the Commandments but hits the core of them by reminding his listeners of the imperative to care for the vulnerable among us in a proper way. In a similar way, Jesus’ instruction to the crowd addresses distortions that crept into living the Commandments and what exactly defiled a person in the eyes of God. While all three of these proclamations take up a similar lesson this Sunday, it is important to look at another dimension of ‘doing’ the Commandments: just how are the Commandments being lived? To gain some insight to this question, we turn to God’s Word from the Letter of James.

In the translation we listen to this Sunday, we are told to “Humbly welcome …” πραΰτης (prautes), translated “humbly” in the Text, is generally understood as “mild,” “meek” or “gentle” in antiquity. It describes an attitude or demeanor regarding the presentation of oneself to another. πραΰτης actions are devoid of anger and harshness. In some usages in ancient texts, πραΰτης refers to how a person expresses himself or herself in speech: generally, very softly so as to be able to listen to the word of the other. More typical though, πραΰτης expresses a twofold action characterized by a balance between gentility in reception coupled with strength and conviction to accomplish that which has been received. In other words, πραΰτης is not about being “mild, meek or gentle” to the point of people walking all over you. πραΰτης is not suggesting that a person must become a doormat or never stand up to injustice or oppression; quite the opposite! The human tendency though is to rush head-on into life, a take-charge attitude that sometimes is the equivalent of a stream-roller flattening everyone and everything in the path because I have a job to do. As far as the Letter of James is concerned, there is certainly a job that needs doing: “to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” Doing that work, as important and as necessary as it is, must be done in a certain way and this is where the older, less frequently translated meaning of πραΰτης (softly speaking so as to listen to the other) is helpful.

When Jesus chides the Pharisees for how they have observed religious practices, notice what Jesus says. The various practices in themselves are not bad or evil. At the hands of the Pharisees, Jesus has a problem with how the practices are accomplished. One can say that they are not being done in the sense of πραΰτης: there is no “mild, meek or gentle” receptivity on the part of the Pharisees. This is an attitude of ‘let’s get this done, let’s get this over with – let’s get this out of the way (a point heard by some concerning Worship on Sundays …).’ The needed gentleness to listen to the voice of the Other, in this case the Lord Himself, is essential to prevent ‘religious works’ from being ‘corrupting’ or even ‘scandalous works.’ At all times, the disciple of Jesus must listen and be attentive to the Word of God not only to know what needs to be done, but how.

Week 21, Saturday. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris.

“And they devoted (προσκαρτεροῦντες, proskarterountes) themselves to the Apostles’ teaching (τῇ διδαχῇ τῶν ἀποστόλων, te didache ton apostolon) and fellowship (καὶ τῇ κοινωνίᾳ, te koinonia), to the breaking of bread (τῇ κλάσει τοῦ ἄρτου, te klasei tou artou) and the prayers (ταῖς προσευχαῖς, proseuchais).

And day by day, attending (προσκαρτεροῦντες, proskarterountes) the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook (μετελάμβανον, metelambanon) of food with glad and generous hearts (ἀγαλλιάσει καὶ ἀφελότητι καρδίας, agalliasei kai apheloteti kardias) and praising God (αἰνοῦντες τὸν θεὸν, ainountes ton Theon) and having favor (χάριν, charin) with all the people. And the Lord added (προσετίθει, prosetithei) to their number day by day those who were being saved (σῳζομένους, sozomenous) (Acts 2:42, 46-47).”

PSALM for TODAY (click for full Psalm)

Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own. (Psalm 33:12, Mass).

COLLECT (click for Readings)

O God,
Who cause the minds of the faithful
to unite in a single purpose,
grant your people to love what you command and
to desire what you promise, that,
amid the uncertainties of this world,
our hearts may be fixed on that place where true gladness is found.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

To round out the first action of the newly baptized, we saw earlier that “they devoted themselves to “the … teaching (τῇ διδαχῇ, te didache).” Previously, we examined the critical distinction between teaching that is kerygma and teaching that is didache. The task now is to ask, “Who is ‘doing’ the didache?”

(By way of reminder, we are looking at these verses from the Acts of the Apostles because they open Chapter 3 of the Imstrumentum Laboris.)

The Acts of the Apostles notes the uniqueness of this teaching (didache) as “the teaching of the apostles.” Earlier in Acts, we learn how the infant community understood apostles in light of the need to choose a successor to Judas. “Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied (συνελθόντων, sunelthonton) us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become (γενέσθαι, genesthai) with us a witness to his resurrection (μάρτυρα τῆς ἀναστάσεως, martura tes anastaseos).”

Among the many who followed Jesus, He called 12 and ‘sent them out.’ Apostle, in this sense, is more about an action flowing from a call, flowing from a word. The ‘sent out’ is what uniquely constitutes those Jesus chose, in other words, mission is at the heart of one constituted an apostle. Peter knew this and it is why he saw as 1 requirement for Judas’ successor that one “accompanied (συνελθόντων, sunelthonton) us.” As part of a large family of Greek verbs meaning “to go” and “to come,” συνέρχομαι (sunerchomai) conveys a more precise meaning of “being with another on a journey,” a meaning with obvious missionary overtones. Yet elsewhere in the Letters of the New Testament, συνέρχομαι suggests “a journey” that brings all together at the Lord’s Supper, a usage that clearly points in the direction of unity and Eucharist. Hence the “teaching of the apostles” is not about filling the heads of the newly baptized with more data about Jesus and the new life they have been plunged into through Baptism. Apostolic didache is way of unpacking the encounter with Jesus (kerygma) in such a way that the newly baptized is impelled to ‘go out on Mission’ and ‘to journey to the Lord’s Supper’ and build up the Body of Christ in unity. The ‘giving’ of teaching is not to master facts – the teaching (didache) is given that it will be taken out into the world.

This obviously raises many questions, once again, about how we as a Church go about the work of Catholic education (actually, I believe we need to drop the phrase ‘Catholic education’ and use the Biblical and Liturgical language of catechesis and formation). There are certainly many who have been formed and are doing the work of the Lord in the world. Yet it seems there are far more who have approached ‘Catholic education’ as a means to an end that has little to do with the Person Jesus and the mission He commends to each person.

Consider:

While there is certainly individual responsibility, do we as a Church have to examine how we catechize?
In your experience, are elements of formation and mission essential and expected aspects of catechesis?

Week 21. Saint Monica of Hippo. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris:

PSALM for TODAY (click for full Psalm)

Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations. (Psalm 96:3, Mass).

COLLECT (click for Readings)

O God,
who console the sorrowful and
who mercifully accepted the motherly tears
of Saint Monica for the conversion
of her son Augustine, grant us,
through the intercession of them both,
that we may bitterly regret our sins and
find the grace of your pardon.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

We last considered the meaning of how the newly baptized were living when it came to their new life in Christ Jesus: “they devoted themselves (προσκαρτεροῦντες, proskarterountes)” and we will explore over the course of the next few days that these newly baptized devoted themselves to 4 particular experiences of Christian living. These experiences are termed by some scholars as the ‘constitutive elements of Church’ and they are presented as Chapter 3 of the Instrumentum Laboris begins. In other words, when these 4 experiences come together in the power and work of the Holy Spirit, the result is the Body of Christ, the Church. The first of these experiences is διδαχή (didache), translated here in the Acts of the Apostles as “teaching.”

διδαχή has both a rich usage and meaning in the ancient world. Biblically, throughout all of Sacred Scripture and especially in the New Testament, the usage and meaning of διδαχή is nuanced (a precise variation of a word’s meaning in or for a particular context). From a Christian point of view as evidenced particularly in the Acts of the Apostles, διδαχή presupposes κηρυγμα (kerygma or kerugma). Before “teaching” can properly occur, the ‘one-to-be-taught’ must first have encountered the Person Jesus Christ, be connected to Him through the Gift of Faith and respond with a lifestyle or manner of living marked by metanoia (daily, ongoing conversion from selfishness to selflessness as lived by Jesus culminating in His Cross) and belief (characterized by a radical trust in the Person Jesus that His words and deeds are the path to authentic living). Technically speaking, διδαχή is not so much ‘teaching the Faith’ to lead people to Faith in the power of the Holy Spirit as it is unpacking the Faith already experienced in the κηρυγμα. Meeting, encountering and being connected to Jesus are necessary prior to any genuine Christian teaching.

διδαχή, that teaching which unpacks the Faith experienced in the κηρυγμα, is also revelatory and missionary in scope. διδαχή is not theological trival. διδαχή is not concerned with Divine minutia. διδαχή is not teaching that is meant to help one be a game winner at biblical or theological pursuits. In unpacking the κηρυγμα, διδαχή - as presented by the apostles (more on that tomorrow) – cooperates with the Holy Spirit in leading people to greater depths of connection with Jesus Christ: the Divine Son of God Who took on our nature for our salvation. διδαχή is the work that responds to Jesus’ question of Peter and the apostles, “But you, who do you say I am?” διδαχή is the response to those in the boat who ask, “Who then is this Whom even wind and sea obey?” As one can appreciate, these questions – this work called διδαχή, is ongoing.

But Jesus’ disciples are not afforded a διδαχή experience simply to live in a land of wow. As blessed as life’s ‘wow moments’ are, as wonderful as those times are when new connections are made for us by the Holy Spirit and we grasp them, all of this is given as Gift for the purpose of service. Coming to greater depths of knowledge and experience of Jesus is not to insulate or absent us from the work of heralding Who He is to all in the world. This does not necessarily mean becoming the town crier on a soapbox. It involves gentle moments of responding to questions of family, friends, co-workers and whoever else stumbles into the path of life as to Who Jesus is and His importance and significance for living.

Consider:

Has the distinction between κηρυγμα (kerygma) and διδαχή (didache) been your experience in religious formation?
Is this distinction still valid today?

Week 21, Sunday. Words of THE WORD.

ANTIPHON (click for full Psalm)

“Turn Your ear, O Lord, and answer me; save the servant who trusts in You my God. have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to You all the day long. (Psalm 86:1-3)

COLLECT

O God, Who cause the minds of the faithful
to unite in a single purpose,
grant Your people to love what You command
and to desire what You promise,
that, amid the uncertainties of this world,
our hearts may be fixed on that place
where true gladness is found.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. (Psalm 34:9).

GOSPEL EXCERPT (click for all readings)

“Then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard (σκληρός, skleros); who can accept (ἀκούειν, akouein) it?” Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock (σκανδαλίζει, skandalizei) you? … We have come to believe and are convinced (ἐγνώκαμεν, egnokamen) that you are the Holy One of God. (John 6:60-61. 69)”

REFLECTION

After being fed and taught at length about the meaning of the feeding, it does come down to a decision. Jesus’ Self-proclaimed identity, “I AM the living bread come down from heaven,” is a make-it or break-it: it is a life changer. As Jesus saw the disciples leaving, He had every opportunity to stop them and ‘change’ His words to a more poetic or metaphoric meaning. He didn’t. True, to the Jewish ear of Jesus’ day, one can certainly appreciate where many of them are coming from. The Kosher dietary laws strictly forbade the consumption of another being’s blood. Many cultures that ‘rubbed shoulders’ with Israel in her ancient history practiced blood drinking. Drinking the blood of a bull or an ox was thought to endow a person with that animal’s remarkable strength. For Israel, blood was sacred because it was believed to be the ‘carrier’ of the Divine Life Breath that made each being a living being. So culturally, one can appreciate where the disciples are coming from when they tell Jesus that His teaching is “hard.” Not only did Jesus mean what He said, there is another piece to the puzzle worth considering.

σκληρός (skleros), the Greek word translated here as “hard,” has another facet of meaning especially in the first-century world of the Gospel. We might be tempted initially to say that the disciples’ declaration is a knee-jerk response to their cultural background. Yet σκληρός, especially in the Gospels, addresses a level of responsibility on the part of the receiver. In other words, Jesus’ teaching is “hard” – not just because of their background but also because, on some level, the disciples have chosen not to receive the teaching. To go a bit further – the disciples not only say that Jesus’ teaching is “hard,” but they pose a question, “who can accept it?”

Translated here at “accept,” ἀκούειν (akouein) is the Greek verb that fundamentally means “to listen.” This is an action that goes far beyond the physics and biology of ‘noise’ hitting the tympanic membrane and registering as some comprehensible or incomprehensible sound to a person. Biblically, ἀκούειν is intimately involved in ‘coming to Faith (Saint Paul)’ and is the necessary action to understand the “signs” that Jesus performs. One might argue that the disciples have become ‘hard’ to Jesus’ teaching because they have not listened (Sound familiar, it’s what happened in the Garden and we keep doing it). So what is needed “to listen” in such a way that one receives Jesus’ teaching?

Saint Augustine chimes in with insights penned in one of his many homilies: “He [Jesus] teaches us that even the act of believing is by way of being a gift and not a matter of merit: “As I told you,” he says, “no one can come to me but whoever has been given it by my Father.” If we call to mind the earlier part of the Gospel, we shall discover where the Lord said this. We shall find that he said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me drags him.” He did not say “leads” but “drags.” This violence happens to the heart, not to the flesh. So why be surprised? Believe, and you come; love, and you are dragged. Do not regard this violence as harsh and irksome; on the contrary, it is sweet and pleasant. It is the very pleasantness of the thing that drags you to it. Isn’t a sheep dragged, or drawn irresistibly, when it is hungry and grass is shown to it? And I presume it is not being moved by bodily force but pulled by desire.”

Is this to say that God the Father ‘selects’ or ‘predestines’ people to belief in His Son, Jesus? I think not for our Tradition is quite clear: God our Father desires the loss of none! On the human side of the equation it does come down to an act of humility expressed in an old Jewish prayer: “God is God, I am not. God is God, we are not.” While we have been given an intellect and that intellect can be in the service of Faith (Saint Anselm, “Faith seeking understanding”) there comes a point where, like Peter, we accept the Words of Jesus, period. HE IS JESUS – He does not have to explain Himself – His disciples (us!) have “to listen” in a way that involves cooperating with all that the Father has done that we may, like Peter boldly proclaim: “We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

Week 20, Thursday. Saint Rose of Lima. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris:

PSALM for TODAY (click for full Psalm)

Praise the Lord for He is good; sing to our God for He is loving. (Psalm 147:1, Liturgy of the Hours: Morning Prayer).

COLLECT (click for Readings)

O God,
you set Saint Rose of Lima on fire with your love,
so that,
secluded from the world in the austerity of a life of penance,
she might give herself to you alone;
grant, we pray, that through her intercession,
we may tread the paths of life on earth and
drink at the stream of your delights in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

As mentioned yesterday, we are going to spend some time ‘breaking-open’ God’s Word from the Acts of the Apostles. The above-cited verses not only open chapter 3 of the Instrumentum Laboris, but they also provide a framework for grasping the Holy Spirit’s various challenges to the Church that are spelled out with clarity in “Transmitting the Faith (chapter 3, Instrumentum Laboris).” Building on yesterday’s reflections of how many came to be baptized (kerygmatic preaching), we turn today to examine how ‘being baptized’ (receiving and accepting the encounter with Jesus Christ) translates into ‘acting as a baptized’ (discipleship in the Lord Jesus).

In verse 42 and 46, we learn the first activity of the newly baptized is to “devote (verse 42)” and “attend (verse 46).” While translated into English differently in each verse, the Greek verb, προσκαρτερέω (proskartereo) – meaning “to remain with” “to stay by” or “to give of oneself” – is the same in both verses. προσκαρτερέω is used in these verses as a ‘present-participle’ meaning that the action is continuous. Biblically, when an action is continuous it can suggest that the activity is a manner of living or how one lives. In verse 42, προσκαρτερέω describes how the baptized live 4 specific facets of Christian discipleship. What προσκαρτερέω ‘does’ is to underscore what we might call the level of commitment or depth of dedication characteristic of the newly baptized. In receiving and accepting the Person Jesus Christ, the new baptized realize that there is something very different about their lives that require, by definition, a new way of living. This new way of living is not just ‘Jesus among other people and things’ in which everything and everyone has equal standing. It is the radical way of living Jesus expressed in the Sermon on the Mount: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and all things will be given besides (Matthew 6:33).”

προσκαρτερέω, as a unique and total way of living the baptismal encounter in Christ Jesus, is the grounding of what Blessed John Paul II termed the “new ardor and courage” of The New Evangelization. While The New Evangelization embodies Jesus’ missionary mandate, while The New Evangelization seeks to remedy the reality of the baptized who no longer live Christ’s life – The New Evangelization also seeks to encourage more deeply those already engaged in the Christian mission.

Consider:

What practically can be done to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in experiencing a ‘new ardor’ in our parishes and dioceses where apathy and indifference appear so intrenched?

Week 20, Wednesday. Queenship of Mary. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris:

PSALM for TODAY (click for full Psalm)

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. (Psalm 23:1, Mass).

COLLECT (click for Readings)

O God,
who made the Mother of your Son
to be our Mother and our Queen,
graciously grant that, sustained by her intercession,
we may attain in the heavenly Kingdom
the glory promised to your children.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

Today’s selection from the Instrumentum Laboris ‘looks’ a bit different from previous entries. The selection is not per se a paragraph from the document, rather a quote from the Acts of the Apostles that now opens Chapter 3 of the Instrumentum Laboris, “Transmitting the Faith.” Insights expressed in the paragraphs that follow do in fact flow from the testimony and life of the infant Church, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. For that reason, it is appropriate to spend a few days breaking open this Word of God that is known by many as the ‘Constitutive Elements of Church.’ Each element ought to be a source of reflection for how our parishes and dioceses exist as a living expression of the Body of Christ and therefore a set of criteria for being Church.

The biblical citation informs us, “And they devoted (προσκαρτεροῦντες, proskarterountes) themselves.” The “they” referred to in the Sacred Text are the newly baptized. As the post-Pentecost apostles preached Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, thousands heard and accepted the preaching in such a way that it moved them to accept baptism in Jesus Christ. “They” sought and accepted baptism after listening to the preaching of the apostles. The Acts of the Apostles makes a distinction between preaching and teaching. The crowds of people listen to the apostles ‘hand-on’ the Person, Jesus Christ. This initial preaching, this initial ‘handing-on’ OF A PERSON, the Person Jesus Christ, is an encounter with Him in which one is blessed with the gift of faith. This initial preaching in the Acts of the Apostles is known as kerugma or kerygma (κηρυγμα). κηρυγμα is a first-preaching. κηρυγμα, technically, is not all the details about Christian belief and theology. κηρυγμα is presenting the crucified and risen Jesus in such a way that, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, a person initially accepts Jesus and begins to live the Gift that has been given in that encounter: faith, that relationship that trusts what the Person Jesus says and does is the way to live the Kingdom authentically as a child of His and our Father. Long before an delving into the finer points of belief (which we will examine tomorrow) and analyzing deeper theological contentions and teachings, κηρυγμα is the first-work of the Body of Christ, a work that fundamentally and foundationally ‘hands-on’ the Person Jesus that all may encounter Him.

Consider:

Do ‘religious education programs’ and/or Catholic schools follow, in your experience, this distinction between preaching and teaching?
Was this a distinction that was needed in the infant Church alone - or - can it benefit us in the present day? If so, how?
Is is possible to present much ‘data’ about Jesus and miss Him as Person?

Week 20, Sunday. Words of THE WORD.

ANTIPHON (click for full Psalm)

“Turn Your eyes, O God, our shield; and look on the face of Your anointed one; one day within Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. (Psalm 84:10-11)

COLLECT

O God, Who have prepared for those who love You
good things which no eye can see,
fill our hearts, we pray, with the warmth of Your love,
so that, loving You in all things and above all things,
we may attain your promises,
which surpass every human desire.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. (Psalm 34:9).

GOSPEL EXCERPT (click for all readings)

Jesus said to the crowds:
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats (φάγῃ, phage) this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world.”
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
“How can this man give us his flesh to eat (φαγεῖν, phagein)?”
Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat (φάγητε, phagete) the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats (τρώγων, trogon) my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats (τρώγων, trogon) my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on (τρώγων, trogon) me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats (τρώγων, trogon) this bread will live forever.”

REFLECTION

Do not eat or eat? Eat or eat? These are two questions at the heart of Jesus’ blunt teaching about Who He is and how His followers are to act. Let’s take a look at the first question.

Do not eat or eat? The question is simple and the response: a common sense, emphatic declaration, “Yes (otherwise, we - as humans - die)!” But to gain a bit more insight on this question, we must turn our attention to Genesis 3. Why ... given that Deuteronomy, not Genesis is the First Reading this Sunday? Part of the answer lies with the Evangelist, Saint John himself. The Gospel that bears his name opens, “In the beginning,” a clear signal that as far as he is concerned the saving, sacred record of Jesus that is about to unfold in the Text is a New Creation. Much in the Gospel according to Saint John presents a New Creation and this is important for us this Sunday because in the Creation account, eating plays a significant (quite an understatement) role in humanity’s relationship with God and the world.

In keeping the question ‘Do not eat or eat?’ before us this Sunday, it is clear in the Creation Account that humanity is not given carte blanche to eat anything. Boundaries are placed on what humanity can and can not consume in the Garden. The question of what to eat becomes important because we learn through Eve’s dialogue with the Snake that the Creator has imposed at least 1 restriction on food and Eve (along with Adam for that matter), while she may not have known the exact reason why the food is prohibited, she knows that it is forbidden to eat.

(As a slight aside, I want to stress here that this food prohibition is not whimsical nor capricious on the part of God nor are any of the episodes of this Sacred Account of the Beginnings to be casually declared ‘just a story’ that can be dismissed because ‘we know better.’ We don’t. There is much bound with the fruit and the entire Garden experience that is crucial for grasping what it means to have been created in the “image and likeness of God.” Such a creation has implications, not only for the rest of Creation, but very importantly for the relationship of God of humanity.)

Physiologically, as food deals with what we choose to put into our bodies and consequently our lives, in Genesis 3 fruit is food AND a whole lot more! Even our doctors and nutritionists remind us, ‘you are what you eat.’). Hence we were told not to eat of a particular food in the Garden. So long as humanity did the work that was entrusted to them by the Creator and did not eat of a particular fruit, Genesis teaches that Divine Harmony - Original Justice - flourished. But when humanity choose to grasp (as opposed to receiving graciously) for that which Divinity forbade, life took a noticeable turn, to say the least, and the relationship that humanity enjoyed with God changed utterly. That which was forbidden (for our own good) was grasped, taken and consumed. Adam, Eve and the whole of humanity were filled with shame and alienated from the Loving God because the command “Do not eat!” was ignored.

Out of love, the Creator sounded the ‘first Gospel (known by the Fathers of the Church as the Protoevangelium, [Genesis 3:15])’ and promised healing. Since the wound and the rupture were so grave, healing would take time because the human heart, caught in the addiction of selfishness and doing things ‘my way,’ took (and continues to take) a long time to be healed and to re-fashioned. It is interesting to note that as Salvation History unfolds, food plays a role in God healing humanity’s relationship with Him - the covenant meals, the hospitality meals, the Passover, the Messianic Banquet envisioned by Isaiah, and the meal prepared by Wisdom: food plays a role in the healing of relationships, Divine and human.

This brings us to the Person, Jesus. In the Garden, humanity was instructed ‘not to eat of a particular food.’ Now, Jesus commands the consumption of a particular food: HIMSELF! Because humanity ingested that which was not of the Creator’s Will, humanity is now commanded to consume the Body and Blood of Christ that He - JESUS! - says is true food and true drink. The path from the rupture of the Garden to new life as children of God requires the consumption of His Body and His Blood. Hence it is no longer “Do not eat” but “Eat!”

Now this raises the second question, “Eat or eat?” It is an important question because the Evangelist John employs two distinct Greek verbs in this Sunday’s proclamation - and both of them are translated into English as “to eat.” In the first part of this Sunday’s pericope, the Greek verb ἐσθίω (esthio) is used. ἐσθίω (esthio) refers to a physical act of eating and it is the verb used to translate the Hebrew אָכַל (ʾakal) that appears in Genesis 3. אָכַל (ʾakal), while its primary meaning and principle usage is the physical act of ‘food into mouth,’ it can refer – on occasion – to a metaphoric or poetic ‘eating’ that is akin to ‘taking in a lesson or a message.’ The Greek ἐσθίω (esthio) functions in a similar way. In its major uses, ἐσθίω (esthio) is the physical act of eating but on occasion it can refer to a metaphoric or poetic ‘eating.’

But then there is the other verb in Greek that is translated into English “to eat,” the Greek verb τρώγω (trogo). Interestingly, in antiquity this verb did not specifically refer to the action of eating but rather how one ate: gnawing and chewing … and the gnawing and chewing were often accompanied by sound. In other words, τρώγω (trogo) is an exceptionally graphic action, often used to describe how animals and barbarians ate, not the way our moms and dads taught us to eat and behave at the supper table! What τρώγω (trogo) does here in the text is TO REMOVE any hint or suggestion that Jesus is speaking about a metaphoric, poetic or solely spiritual eating. The action is quite physical. The action is quite messy – AND – it points directly to the Cross. The only way that anyone can consume the flesh and blood of a living being is for that living being to be dead. Jesus’ command “to eat” and “to eat” in a specific way: τρώγω (trogo) is a declaration of giving Himself completely in fidelity to the Father’s Will that results in His Sacrifice on the Cross that we may live fully.

Thus the “do not eat” of Genesis is replaced by Jesus’ command “to eat” and “to eat” in a very particular way: τρώγω (trogo).

Biblically, this is a significant Text in the Church’s teaching of Jesus’ Real Presence, a teaching and experience that requires sound catechesis as upwards of 60% of practicing (yes, practicing Catholics) have become quite lukewarm (to be charitable) on this fundamental and privileged Gift to Encounter the Savior Who heals us of what went wrong in the Garden. At the Easter Vigil in the Diocese of Hippo some 1600 years ago, Saint Augustine addressed the newly Baptized and Confirmed prior to the reception of Holy Communion for the first time, “Become Who you consume.” In the Garden, our nature ingested a poison; our nature welcomed sin into our very being – not just into our spiritual nature, our physical nature as well. We are in need of an antidote for the ingested poison: spiritually and physically (sacramentally). No wonder that Saint Ignatius of Antioch and Saint Gregory of Nyssa referred to the Holy Eucharist as a Sacred Drug! Saint Ignatius wrote of the Eucharist as the “medicine of immortality” and Saint Gregory wrote of the Eucharist as the antidote for poison of sin swirling around in our souls and bodies.

Graciously coming before our Lord, receiving (not taking) with hearts open to His Real Presence is our healing and our strength for the journey - a healing that we can receive no where else and from no one else.